What if we could move anything from where it is, to where it’s needed—quickly, reliably and with a much lower carbon footprint than today’s methods of transporting goods? Delivery drones are part of the solution. Project Wing is a project from X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, that is opening up the skies to provide new services from the air.

We’re building a fleet of small unmanned aircraft that can pick up a package from a business or home, fly themselves to a designated location, hover over the delivery area, and gently lower their package to the ground at a precise location chosen by the person who scheduled the delivery (like a backyard or near a doorstep). Our drones map the safest route to a designated location using our unmanned traffic management platform (UTM), which manages the drones’ flight path from take-off to landing, making sure they plan routes around each other, buildings, trees, or anything else that might pose an obstacle.

Testing in Tuggeranong

Using Project Wing’s delivery app, testers in Tuggeranong can order a range of food and convenience items and have them delivered by drone. The trial is open to a limited number of households in Tuggeranong.

Get involved

Let us know if you’d like to stay informed about Project Wing’s testing program by filling out our online form. We plan to expand our delivery testing zone as our testing progresses.

Managing the growing number of drones safely and securely in the sky requires collaboration and coordination amongst regulators, the aviation community, drone operators and manufacturers, and communities.

We are trialing drone delivery with a limited number of households in Tuggeranong, Australia.

Why are you testing in Australia?

We’ve been testing in Australia since 2014, when we delivered radios, batteries, and bottled water to farmers in Queensland. Australians have been early adopters of drones, using the technology in agriculture, industry and during emergency situations for many years.

How do I become a tester?

Project Wing’s delivery test is only available to those in our test area in Tuggeranong. However, if you want to find out more, let us know by filling out our get involved form.

How much does drone delivery cost?

Testers will be able to purchase a range of food and convenience items and Project Wing will deliver these items without a delivery charge during testing.

What items can I get delivered?

Chemist Warehouse is offering nearly 100 products across several product categories - including medicines, sun care, dental, haircare, skincare, cosmetics, vitamins and personal care. Guzman y Gomez are offering a range of burritos and burrito bowls, as well as sides like guacamole and chips.

How much weight can the drone carry?

Our drones can carry packages that weigh up to 1.5 kilograms (kg).

Will Project Wing be expanding its delivery zone soon?

We hope to expand our delivery zone as our testing progresses.

How does Project Wing know where to deliver packages?

Using the Project Wing app, testers will be able to select from a small number of pre-selected locations in their yard where Wing can safely deliver.

How do testers take the package off the drone?

Our testers do not interact directly with the delivery drone. The aircraft hovers around 5 metres above the ground and lowers the package to the ground on a line using a winch. Testers remain at least 15m away from the drone while it’s in operation. Once on the ground, the package disconnects from the line (which is then wound back up) and the drone flies away. The tester can then safely retrieve the package.

How big are Project Wing’s drones?

The wingspan is roughly 1 metre and each drone weighs around 5 kilograms (kg).

How far can each drone fly?

Our delivery drones will be flying around a maximum of 14 kilometres (km) round trip for the purpose of this test.

In your neighborhood

We respect the communities we operate in and are working closely with residents and local authorities to ensure we address any concerns that might arise about this new technology.

Who has given you permissions to fly?

We’ve been working closely with CASA for all of our flight testing in Australia since 2014, when we delivered supplies by drone to farmers in rural Queensland. Our Bonython operations have been approved by CASA, who require us to provide detailed information about the safety of our technology. The ACT Government has also supported our trial.

How much noise do the drones make?

Our aircraft making a delivery to your neighbor is about as loud as the sound of a dishwasher.

Do you have permission to fly over my private property?

As with other aircraft operators, like helicopters and planes, permission is not required from property owners to fly over their land. Our drones will be flying high above houses - on average 30 metres above the ground, or (roughly the height of a 10 story building).

How do you test your drones to ensure they can fly safely and reliably?

Safety is our highest priority. We’ve flown tens of thousands of test flights at our private test facilities in the US, and we recently completed hundreds of yard deliveries to residents living on the border of NSW and the ACT. All of our tests are conducted in accordance with all applicable Australian aviation laws and regulations and Project Wing safety policies.

In addition to this, we have multiple levels of redundancy built into our operations, including real-time systems that conduct health and safety checks on our drones, and qualified pilots who oversee the operations.

Are there cameras on the drone?

Our drones have a range of sensors on them - like GPS and a downward-facing camera - that are used to help the drone navigate and identify precisely where to land. All of our test flights are conducted in accordance with all applicable Australian privacy laws and regulations.

What do you use the footage for?

We actively avoid capturing any more data than is necessary for the safe operations of our drones. Camera data is used by the drone to help it navigate safely. Access to this data is limited to our team and is used for technical debugging purposes to improve the drone’s performance. It is not published or shared with anyone outside our team.

How close do the drones get to people?

Testers will not have any contact with our delivery drones--we require that testers remain at least 15m away from the drones. Our delivery drones hover around 5 metres above the ground and lower the package to the ground on a line using a winch. The package is then unhooked from the winch, the winch is wound up, and the drone flies away. The tester can then safely retrieve the package.

How do drones operate in adverse weather conditions like rain? Can they fly at night?

Initially we will operate during daylight hours and in favorable weather conditions. Our drones are designed to fly in both the day and night and are capable of safely delivering a package in a strong breeze and rain.

Get in touch

Have questions or suggestions? Here’s how you can contact Project Wing.

At Project Wing we’re building self-flying vehicles to move anything from where it is to where it’s needed, as safely and efficiently as possible. Our teams are pushing boundaries in every aspect of aviation technology. We’re looking for talented and inspired engineers and scientists to join us.

Thank you for your interest. We’ll be in touch if there is an opportunity to work together.

Partner with us

Interested in partnering with Project Wing? We’re looking for organizations who can help us build, test, use and showcase our technology. Please fill out this form, and we'll be in touch if there is an opportunity to work together.